8.08.2008

Notable Sixer Choke Jobs

The Philadelphia 76ers have blown big playoff leads twice, losing to the Boston Celtics both times. In 1968 the 76ers led the Eastern Conference final series, 3-1, then lost three games in a row despite having the home-court advantage.

In 1981 the 76ers' performance might have outdone even that dubious acheivement. Leading the Eastern Conference championship series, 3-1, they blew a six-point lead in the last 80 seconds of Game 5, a 57-42 lead in the second half of Game 6 and did not score a single point in the last 5 minutes and 23 seconds of Game 7.

"Choking occurs," Dr. Thomas Tutko says, "when tension builds up for so long and so high that it reaches a point when the person feels that something is going to go wrong and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. They rehearse failure so much mentally that they freeze. They say, Oh, boy, I knew this was going to happen - and it happens."'